This memo contains important and timely information regarding special education data collection requirements for the 2010-11 school year. Please review the information provided below and if you have any questions regarding your reporting responsibilities, contact the IRS/SEDCAR unit by telephone at (518) 474-7965 or by sending an e-mail message to datasupport@nysed.gov.

Compared to the 2009-10 school year, the following changes will be implemented during the 2010-11 school year:

The special education snapshot (child count and least restrictive environment in which students with disabilities receive educational services) will be on Wednesday, October 6, 2010;

All reports displayed in the PD data system will display the following seven race/ethnicity categories or collect data according to these categories: Hispanic or Latino; American Indian or Alaska Native (Not of Hispanic Origin); Asian (Not of Hispanic Origin); Black or African American (Not of Hispanic Origin); Native Hawaiian or Other Pacific Islander (Not of Hispanic Origin); White (Not of Hispanic Origin); and Two or More Races (Not of Hispanic Origin). These reporting categories are consistent with how race/ethnicity data are collected through the Student Information Repository System (SIRS) for the 2010-11 school year.

The special education snapshot (child count and least restrictive environment in which students with disabilities receive educational services) will be on Wednesday, October 6, 2010; Online Certification on January 12, 2011; Certification of Assurance Form signed in original ink by Superintendent or Chief Administrative Officer required soon after online certification.

The VR-10 – Report of Students with Disabilities Exiting Special Education will be revised. Section B, Reports 1-15B will contain data for students with disabilities who were enrolled as of October 6, 2010 but exited later in the same school year. In previous school years these reports contained data for all students with disabilities, ages 14-21 who exited special education at any time during the school year.

The verification and certification process for special education reports displayed through the PD data system for data collected through SIRS will be the same as during the 2009-10 school year except that the PD data system will stop refreshing the data after the established certification date. During the verification period, the data will be refreshed on a weekly basis from the Level 2 repository and displayed in the VR reports for your review. After the last refresh, all school districts will certify their data electronically by selecting one of the following two certification options. These options will appear below each VR report on the last refresh date:

I certify that my school district’s data are complete and accurate;

I cannot certify that my school district’s data are complete and accurate; however, I understand that the deadline for making corrections has passed and that these data may be used for all reports and decisions.

After one of the above certifications is selected, there will be an appeals period within which school districts that encountered data systems issues may submit requests for another refresh from the data repository. It is very important that school districts complete their data submission responsibilities during the verification time period. Please note that while this is a change in policy regarding correction of special education data after the certification due date, this policy is consistent with current rules for revising data in the accountability reports.;

The following are important reporting dates the 2010-11 school year:

The 2010-11, PD-6, Report of Special Education Personnel Employed or Contracted to Provide Special Education Services is posted at http://www.p12.nysed.gov/sedcar/ under the 2010-11 school year. The due date for this report is Tuesday, February 1, 2011.

The 2010-11, PD-8, Report of Students with Disabilities Suspended or Removed to an Interim Alternative Education Setting is posted at http://www.p12.nysed.gov/sedcar/, under the 2010-11 school year. The due date for this report is on Friday, August 5, 2011.

The SEDCAR-1 form must be provided to each school district of residence by Monday, November 29, 2010 to request an IDEA vendor funding amount for the 2011-12 school year for students with disabilities who are placed in your educational program by school districts as of October 6, 2010.

The SEDCAR-2 form must be provided to a school district and to the State by Monday, November 29, 2010 to designate a school district through whom to receive a proportionate share of federal IDEA funds for the 2011-12 school year for students who are placed in your program through the courts or State agencies.

New York State will collect least restrictive environment data according to the new federal reporting categories for students with disabilities ages 3-5 in the 2011-12 school year. Most of the children in this age-range receive preschool special education programs and services, however this age range also includes school age students whose age on October 5, 2011 is 4 or 5. All school districts will be sent a separate communication that describes these new categories in ample time to prepare to report these data for the October 5, 2011 special education snapshot.

All materials related to requirements for reporting special education data to the State for the 2010-11 school year are posted or a link to them is available at http://www.p12.nysed.gov/sedcar/. Special education data are collected through SIRS and the PD data system. The primary documentation for data that must be submitted through SIRS is the 2010-11 SIRS Manual, the link to which will be available at the websites identified above. The documentation for data that must be submitted directly through the PD data system or through regular mail is included with each form (i.e., PD-6, PD-8, SEDCAR-1 and SEDCAR-2 forms) and in the Self Review Monitoring Protocols for special education State Performance Plan (SPP) Indicators 4, 9, 10 and 13. For description of these and all other special education indicators and for copies of all the self review monitoring protocols, and other information related to each indicator, please see the SPP home page at http://www.p12.nysed.gov/specialed/spp/.

Special Education Data Collected Through SIRS

The chart below provides a description of each type of data that school districts must submit through SIRS, the verification reports which display the data, the verification time period, and the certification due date. Special education data verification and certification takes place through the PD data system at http://pd.nysed.gov. One PD data system contact person and one school district data coordinator has a user ID and password to access this system. Certification can only be provided by the PD data system contact person. If there are new contact persons in your school district, please call SEDCAR at (518) 474-7965 or send an e-mail to datasupport@nysed.gov to request a new user ID and password.

Verification Report

Type of Data and Required Templates

Verification Period, and Final Date for Data Certification

VR1-6, and VR8

These reports display preschool and school age students with disabilities for whom school districts have CPSE and CSE responsibility and who are provided special education services in accordance with an IEP, IESP or SP and in accordance with State standards as of October 6, 2010. These data are submitted through SIRS, using the Special Education Snapshot, School Enrollment, Student Demographic, and Programs Fact templates.

These reports also display the least restrictive environment in which preschool and school age students with disabilities are provided special education services. Data in these reports are displayed by disability, age, race/ethnicity, gender and LEP status. (Parentally placed students with disabilities in nonpublic elementary and secondary schools are displayed in two categories, those who receive special education services in accordance with an IEP, Individualized Education Services Program (IESP) or a Service Plan (SP) and those who do not.)

VR6 (preschool students) and VR8 (school-age students) reports display students by their “Building of Enrollment”. Students are displayed as enrolled in school district buildings or in out-of-district buildings of enrollment.

Data verification period is between October 13, 2010 and January 12, 2011.

An electronic certification is required on January 12, 2011.

A Statement of Assurance form (printed from the PD data system) must be mailed to SEDCAR after completing the electronic certification of accurate and complete data.

VR7 and VR9

These reports provide a VIEW only of the number of students with disabilities who are the CPSE or CSE responsibility of other school districts, but as of October 6, 2010 are placed in your school district, as reported by their districts of residence. These reports provide an aggregate count of preschool (VR7) and school age (VR9) students with disabilities enrolled in your school district. Individual student identification information is NOT provided in these reports.

If these reports do not agree with your record of how many students with disabilities your district is educating from other districts, please contact the other school districts that reported these data to let them know so they may correct their reporting.

In order to be proactive and assist school districts of residence report accurate enrollment information, we recommend that you provide each district of residence enrollment information on students with disabilities who are placed in your school district as of October 6, 2010. Please do this as soon as possible in October or early November to facilitate accurate reporting by school districts of residence.

Please view the VR7 and VR9 reports beginning on October 13, 2010. These reports will be refreshed every Wednesday until January 12, 2011.

No certification is required for these reports.

VR10

This report displays preschool and school-age students with disabilities who are declassified or end enrollment during the 2010-11 school year. Information is also included regarding type of credential students earn and their postgraduate plans. Data are displayed for all students with disabilities for whom the district has CPSE or CSE responsibility. Data are displayed by disability, age, race/ethnicity, gender and LEP status of students with disabilities who leave school during the 2010-11 school year. These data are reported through SIRS, using the School Enrollment, Student Demographic and Programs Fact templates. School districts may but are not required to report type of credential or postgraduate plans of students with disabilities for whom they have CSE responsibility only.

Data verification is between June 1, 2011 and August 10, 2011.

Data displayed in VR10 Report on August 10, 2011 will need to be certified.

Special Education Data Collected Directly Through the PD Data System

The chart below provides a summary of aggregate data that are required to be submitted through the PD data system and the due dates. One PD data system contact person and one data coordinator in each school district has a user ID and password to access this system. Data entry and certification can only be provided by the PD data system contact person. If there are new contact persons in your school district, please contact IRS/SEDCAR at (518) 474-7965 or by e-mail to datasupport@nysed.gov to request a new user ID and password.

Type of School

Type of Data

Due Date

PD-6

This report requests the total full-time equivalent (FTE) number of special education personnel in selected titles who are employed or contracted to provide special education services to preschool and school age students with disabilities on or about October 6, 2010. This form and its accompanying directions is posted at http://www.p12.nysed.gov/sedcar/ , under the 2010-11 school year heading.

Between October 6, 2010 and February 1, 2011

Certification is required by February 1, 2011.

PD-8

This report requests the number of students with disabilities who are suspended, expelled or removed to an interim alternative education setting during the 2010-11 school year. Data collected by type of disciplinary removal, by disability, race/ethnicity, gender and LEP status. Data regarding provision of educational services during expulsion is also requested for students with and without disabilities. This form is posted at http://www.p12.nysed.gov/sedcar/, under the 2010-11 school year heading.

Between July 1, 2011 and August 5, 2011.

Certification is required by August 5, 2011.

Special Education Data Collected Through Other Processes

Type of School

Type of Data

Due Date

SEDCAR-1 Form

This form is used by educational programs listed below to request 2011-12, federal IDEA vendor funding amounts from school districts that have CPSE or CSE responsibility and have placed students in these program. The amount of vendor funding for 2011-12 school year is to be based on October 6, 2010 enrollment of students with disabilities:

Approved private schools for students with disabilities

State-supported schools

Approved preschool special education programs operated by a BOCES.

Public school districts with approved preschool special education programs that enroll children from other school districts

This form must be provided to school districts with CPSE or CSE responsibility by November 29, 2010.

This form is not submitted to the State.

SEDCAR-2

Child care institutions with affiliated schools (Article 81 Schools) will use the SEDCAR-2 form to designate a public school district through whom to receive 2011-12 federal IDEA funds for students who are placed by the courts or State agencies in their program as of October 6, 2010. This form is posted at http://www.p12.nysed.gov/sedcar/ , under the 2010-11 school year heading.

This form must be provided to the designated LEA and to the State through regular mail by November 29, 2010.

For your reference, this memo will be posted at http://www.p12.nysed.gov/sedcar, look under the 2010-11 school year heading and under the communications section of this website.